The Serumpun Codex · River life and insects
Empurau
A prized river fish of Sarawak's great rivers that feeds on fallen fruit.
The entry
- Name
- Empurau
- Other names
- King of the River; Emperor of River Fish
- Scientific name
- Tor tambroides (Bleeker, 1854); its taxonomy is under review
- What it is
- A prized river fish of Sarawak's great rivers that feeds on fallen fruit.
- Knowledge from
- The river communities of the Rajang, Baram and Baleh.
- How it is used
- Feeds on fallen riverbank fruit such as engkabang, which flavours its flesh. Sells at RM800 to RM1,800 a kilogram.
- In the French Borneo kitchen
- Confit in Engkabang oil, the hero of Course I, River, at Osaka.
- Season and place
- The Rajang, Baram and Baleh rivers
- Conservation status
- Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List (2018 assessment), because its taxonomy is unresolved; not listed under the Sarawak Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998.
- Codex Alimentarius
- No Codex standard
- Medicinal knowledge
- Held privately by the community
- Consent
- Given, recorded by CHASS, 30 October 2026
Still to be confirmed: who shared it with Serumpun.
Sources
- Esa et al., 2008
- Bernama, 2021
- Kottelat, M., Pinder, A.C. & Harrison, A., Tor tambroides, IUCN Red List 2018
- Sarawak LawNet, Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998 (Cap. 26)
- Sarawak LawNet, State Fisheries Ordinance 2003 (Cap. 54)
Added to the Codex on 1 November 2026. Sources last checked on 1 November 2026.
Anyone may cook with this knowledge, commercially too, provided the community it comes from is credited by name. To correct or withdraw this entry, write to the Custodian at connect@chefjameswon.com.
How to cite this entry
Serumpun Sarawak (2026) ‘Empurau’, The Serumpun Codex, ed. James Won. Available at: https://www.chefjameswon.com/serumpun/codex/empurau/ (sources checked 1 November 2026).
Quote any entry with this citation, and name the community whose knowledge it is.